A bee colony – or family – consists of:
- A queen bee – the only fertile female. She lays eggs, keeps the colony happy, is the longest bee and lives 18 months on average, although she can survive up to six years.
- Up to 30,000-60,000 worker bees – small infertile females that groom and feed other bees, maintain the hive, collect nectar, pollen, propolis and water, and make honey. A spring or summer born worker lives six weeks at most, an autumn born one six months.
- Several hundreds or thousands of drones – fertile males that are shorter and stouter than the queen, have large eyes but no sting, wax glands or pollen baskets, and live eight weeks at most.
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